The present invention relates generally to sheet-copy documents production machines such as toner image production machines, and more particularly, concerns such a sheet-copy documents producing machine including a finisher having an unload-while-run safety shield.
In a typical toner image production machine such as an electrostatographic reproduction machine, a photoconductive member is charged to a substantially uniform potential so as to sensitize the surface thereof. The charged portion of the photoconductive member is exposed to a light image of an original document being reproduced. Exposure of the charged photoconductive member selectively dissipates the charge thereon in the irradiated areas. This process records an electrostatic latent image on the photoconductive member corresponding to the informational areas contained within the original document. After the electrostatic latent image is recorded on the photoconductive member, the latent image is developed by bringing a developer material into contact therewith.
Generally, the developer material is made from toner particles adhering triboelectrically to carrier granules. The toner particles are attracted from the carrier granules to the latent image forming a toner powder image on the photoconductive or image bearing member. The toner powder image is then transferred at an image transfer station, from the photoconductive member, to a copy substrate such as a copy sheet of paper.
Thereafter, heat or some other treatment is applied to the toner particles at a fusing station to permanently fuse and affix the toner powder image to the copy sheet or substrate. The copy sheet or substrate typically is fed automatically from a stack supply thereof, along a sheet transport path that includes a sheet registration subassembly, to the image transfer station where the toner image is transferred from the image bearing member onto a first side of the copy sheet. As discussed above, after such toner image transfer, the copy sheet is moved along the sheet path to the fusing station of the machine where the toner image is fused and affixed to the copy sheet forming a sheet-copy.
In machines with duplex copying capability, the sheet path usually includes a sheet inverter, and the copy sheet after leaving the fusing station, is inverted at the inverter and refed to the transfer station in proper orientation for receiving a second toner image on a second side of the copy sheet. In either case, the copy sheet with the fused toner image or images on it is then forwarded to an output tray or finisher. In high speed, high volume such machines, multiple high capacity sheet feeders and multiple finishing apparatus or finishers are typically used, and the machine is enabled for unload-while-running operation.
There is however a problem when the operator must unload sheet sets from a finisher while the machine is still running, unload-while-running. The operator must be protected from moving parts in such a case. This is because the operator can be injured directly by moving parts, and if an undetected fire for example occurs in the upper portion of the finisher while the operator is unloading sheet sets, the operator can be injured by melted plastic or other melted material that could fall on their hand or arms. Any protective device however must also be moved out of the way during normal operation of the finisher.
In accordance with the present invention, there is provided in a sheet-copy documents producing machine is provided and includes (a) sheet supply and feeding means for supplying and feeding image receiving sheets along a path and through image forming stations; (b) image forming devices mounted at the image forming stations for forming desired images on the image receiving sheets resulting in sheet-copy documents of the desired images; and (c) plural sheet-copy documents finishing devices including (i) moving parts, and (ii) at least a first sheet-copy documents finishing device and a last sheet-copy documents finishing device for each receiving, finishing and stacking the sheet-copy documents into stacks for subsequent removal by an operator. Each the sheet-copy documents finishing devices, except the last sheet-copy documents finishing device, including a movable unload-while-running safety shield assembly for protecting hands of the operator from the moving parts during an unload-while-running operation of the copy sheet documents producing machine.